Wednesday, August 11, 2010

This is my final candidate's statement, I just sent it in to Erin Brand and Chris Merrick!

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I came to KBOO as a movement builder, and.saw right away that by giving voice, and therefore power, to the people, KBOO was a critical social tool to getting people in touch with their real values and re-learning their own power.

But like the 40% of folks who leave KBOO every year, I learned that KBOO had some problems. In any one year, the 40% is 2,000 people, which is four times the number of currently active KBOO volunteers. Over the course of time, the 40% becomes a super majority. We let these one-time KBOO believers down, and they and voted against us with their dollar.. They remind us that KBOO has incredible potential to be a secure, dynamic force in the community, and that we all can do one simple act toward enfranchising everyone, including voting in that direction.

The solution to building our membership to where it should be, lies between those who have gone, and those who remain. We need each other, and we need to build bridges, not walls.

The KBOO membership hasn't questioned our leadership or infrastructure as much as we should. KBOO board, seeks to erode our membership control. They've already sought the services of the Canoe Group, which doesn't value grassroots influence. The Canoe group's platform is to brainwash the KBOO membership “slowly,” over the course of three years with many “community talks.” The Canoe group rejected KBOO, declaring KBOO a “nightmare” to work with. They predicted the KBOO membership would sue them alongside KBOO because even they knew the KBOO membership doesn't want them. KBOO board ignored their lawsuit red flag warning, and started looking for another company to help them wrest membership control. But I beg to differ, it's not “us” who are the nightmare, its dismissive ideology of the KBOO BOD.

I believe that a KBOO which tells the world that it believes in community peace, and justice, and yet works against its own members....is an unsustainable KBOO.

Please vote against the current ballot proposal which narrows our election rights. Our elections are the nothing less than the gateway to exercising our political viewpoints. Further, this proposed policy turns KBOO itself on its head. KBOO's mission is to amplify the voice of the “controversial,” and “unpopular,” and “disenfranchised,” not to quash dissent and create disenfranchisement. Inevitably we will create a gated community which alienates more potential supporters as we drive ourselves to an increasingly smaller island of political correctness.

I propose remedying our current unsustainability by doing two things well: 1) Flatten control of KBOO and eliminate hierarchical control; and 2) Create a policy so that when we put our heads together to build community, we don't get decapitated, and we bring out the best in each other instead.

We can and must do this! I would like to build ways to use each other's best potential in order to retain that 40% of dreamers each year who are hungry for what KBOO can and should be!!